Sorry if this reopens wounds, but man… I’m still struggling with Ty’s passing.

[chinngiskhaan]

He did so much good in his very limited time on earth… I could easily see this, and I don’t know him, or anyone that knows him.

My grief over his death is selfish really. It’s hard to believe we won’t get to see him break records. I’m sure he is happy to be with his mother. I just can’t help thinking about the amount of good he would have certainly done in the world had this not happened. He was the perfect representation of everything it means to be a University of Utah Ute. An amazingly talented young man, clearly very humble… He really is the personification of the ideals that Whitt has made the pillars of the football program. Even if he wasn’t successful in football, he had the right mentality to be a force for good in the world for years and years to come.

Truly a tragic loss. 

[Utah5410]

I find myself at least once a day feeling a deep sadness. It’s weird. I’ve never felt so much sorrow for someone I’ve never met. It’s also weird that my sorrow is both selfish (what would utah have looked like next year with him running) and just the tragic loss of a human being (the story with his mom/ his smile/humble attitude/ just seemed like such a good kid) a hope and believe the team will rally around TJ. I think that next year is truly going to
Be special both in wins and the attitude and and spirit of the team. With a packed RES. It’s going to be great.

[pedro]

I lost my MIL that Saturday before, so yeah, today was the first time I was able to watch a NCAA FB game without tearing up.  Tough week.

[dwainegf]

It is terribly sad and it is definitely OK to mourn the way you need to mourn.

[Warrior Ute]

I don’t think your grief response is selfish.  I have been surprised by how much it has impacted me.  I have been even more surprised  by how much it has impacted my wife.  She is a Ute fan but primarily rides on my coattails on following football.  I was wondering why this impacted me so much and I came up with a theory.  I think with how much loss all of us faced in 2020 had a large emotional toll.  My wife and I had a child do a virtual graduation the same time Ty would have been graduating.  There has been a huge loss in social interactions and support.  

We have faced some struggles, but many have faced even more difficulties in the past year than we have.  Ty was a real bright spot in that darkness.  We had very little of the sport we enjoyed to watch and he made our Utah games more exciting and gave us some hope in a dark time. 

He also was an amazing human being, showing us the best of what we can be.  His good humour through his tragedies.  His bright smile would light up any TV shot that showed him.  He showed kindness and caring to others in his refusal to accept a gameball without sharing it with those who had helped him.  His genuine humility stood out in a time of me first mentalities.  I think you noted well that he had the chance to be a force for good in the world for years to come.

I think the reason this loss is impacting many people more strongly than other losses of people they did not know is  because he was giving us all hope in a dark and difficult time.  As you note this is truly a tragic loss.  I think the best we can do is to look at what about him made us feel better and try to take some of the positive attributes Ty embodied and share them with others.  

[gUrthBrooks]

In the midst of the darkness of everything that happened 2020 comes this ray of light in Ty Jordan that almost makes 2020 and a 5 games season worth it because Utah gets to have those 5 games with Ty plus 4 more years of potential awesomeness being shared by this young man’s unique talents. To have Ty pulled away not only takes Ty away, but brings us back into the reality of this harsh 2020 year that seems motivated to put a damper on everything.   

I think you’ve enlightened some of why it cuts so deep for me. Thank you!